Players intensify training for the friendly.

CAIRO, July 9: The Kuwait Olympic soccer team will kick off its first friendly match this evening against Egyptian side Kafr El-Zayat, marking the beginning of a series of warm-up games during its training camp in Cairo, which started last Monday.

Kuwait is scheduled to play three more friendlies during the camp. It will face El Gouna on Sunday, followed by two matches against the Egyptian national team on July 17 and July 20.

This intensive training camp comes as part of preparations for the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers, set to take place in Saudi Arabia in January. Kuwait has been drawn into Group B, alongside Japan, Afghanistan, and host nation Myanmar. The group stage will be played from September 1 to 9.

Under the leadership of Croatian head coach Dario Pesic and assistant coach Mohammed Al-Failakawi, 29 players have been selected for the squad:

Squad List:

Jassim Al-Matar, Abdullah Al-Ghaniman, Ahmed Bodi, Mohammed Al-Sharifi, Abdullah Musa, Abdulredha Shehab, Bader Al-Mutairi, Yousef Majed, Hussein Al-Aryan, Mohammed Al-Kandari, Omar Al-Matar, Khaled Al-Kharqawi, Mohammed Al-Suraie, Saleh Al-Muhattab, Jarrah Al-Hilali, Salem Al-Khatlan, Omar Al-Saleem, Montaser Abdulsalam, Omar Al-Azmi, Hussein Shehab, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Ali Jabr, Nasser Al-Enezi, Bandar Al-Barazi, Abdulrahman Al-Harbi, Jassim Al-Enezi, Adel Al-Shammari, Dhari Al-Masri, Moaz Al-Aseema, and Munir Al-Subaie.

Coach Pesic and his staff aim to enhance the team's overall readiness and build stronger chemistry among the players, particularly as several new faces have joined the squad. The ultimate goal is to deliver strong performances and secure qualification for the U-23 Asian Cup Finals.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff